Package-handling systems, such as those having conveyor belts, drive and guide packages or package-carrying bins or trays through warehouses and delivery hubs. These systems are often thousands of feet long and have hundreds of joints or interface points, such as turns or changes in elevation. Throughout such systems, and especially at interface points, system components from time to time operate improperly due to being misaligned or damaged. Parts such as bearings, guide components, and drive wheels may become misaligned or damaged undesirably by normal wear over time or improper loading. Because components operating improperly are often located in areas of limited access, it is often difficult to identify the problem and its location. There is a need for a package-handling system evaluator for automatically identifying the presence and location of problems in the system.
Problems in the package-handling system are often in far reaches of the system. Thus, users of the system often do not notice the problems until they worsen to the point of halting the system. Having the system down for a few hours or much longer for maintenance on these occasions may be very costly. It is also costly to repair more parts of the package-handling system then necessary in cases where the particular problem and/or facility or area in which the flow path is located area has not been pinpointed.
It is contemplated that users may perform preventative monitoring for identifying problems in their early stages, before they worsen. At early stages, though, slight vibrations or other indications of improper function are difficult or impossible to detect by casual observance. Even when problems are observable by a visual inspection, or identified using handheld sensors, it is a time consuming and costly endeavor for personnel to regularly walk around the entire system, which may be many miles long.
Manually monitoring item-transport systems, such as package-handling systems, on a continuous basis using people constantly inspecting the system may also be expensive. For example, considering that some package-handling systems may run continuously, monitoring personnel may be needed for most of the hours of a day and even perhaps for 24-hour monitoring. Moreover, personnel often cannot see certain aspects of the package-handling system during operation of the system, such as within tunnels or within other equipment of the package-handling systems through which packages move while being handled. Also, some portions of package-handling systems are not easily accessible by personnel and are preferably accessed only to upgrade equipment or fix a known problem.
An item-transport system evaluator that is able to automatically monitor the system and identify the location of potential problems would save time and cost. An evaluator that accurately identifies the location of the operational problems would allow dispatching of personnel to the exact portion of the system needing maintenance. Accurately knowing the exact location of the damage would be especially helpful when problems are in difficult-to-access locations, such as on a conveyor belt elevated ten or more feet above the ground.